Mobile device users often use their devices to receive multimedia content such as streaming audio, video, or data, from a communications node. Mobile computing devices, such as laptops, smartphones, ultrabooks, or tablets are increasingly equipped with multiple transceivers that support different Radio Access Networks (RANs), such as Wi-Fi and cellular transceivers. Likewise, it is not uncommon to find overlapping coverage between multiple RANs that may operate at different bandwidths. Mobile devices equipped with multiple transceivers are able to access the different RAN networks to communicate content.
However, various RATs often operate independently in wireless-enabled communications environments. For example, a user of a multi-radio mobile device or user equipment (UE) may selectively elect to operate either in a Wi-Fi mode or in a cellular mode. Alternatively, the device may automatically elect for the user. While a selected radio link can provide a user with a smooth experience for some types of applications such as delay-sensitive applications, it is not uncommon to experience outages, manifested by dropped calls, buffering delays, transmission errors, and slow connections.
Virtual access network (VAN) technologies allow seamless end-to-end integration of multiple heterogeneous radio access networks (RANs) and enable advanced multi-radio resource management. However, it can be difficult for a VAN to effectively compare the availability and throughput of different RATs.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.